[LearnerHerzog]

> I cannot spend hours and hours studying up on these algorithms, there are much more important things (real coding-related things) which I need to learn about, to the extent I have time to do that.

Are "real code-related things" really much more important if it only takes hours and hours to learn something that might get you an offer at one of these companies?

Perhaps those hours and hours are actually far more valuable 'financially' speaking than a lifetime of studying code that is valuable 'technically' speaking. I don't doubt that some of the big name companies use rarely-used algorithms with battle-tested solutions on purpose JUST to see if you prepared for battle. They look for non-technical smarts because they have no shortage of technically prodigious applicants.

At Google, with over 400 applicants for every position, they have no shortage of technically-competent engineers. They look for people who think way outside the box and try new things, sometimes resulting in industry defining inventiveness. It's ~10 times harder to get hired at Google than get into Harvard.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stanphelps/2014/08/05/cracking-...

[aswanson]

Reminds me of the old phrase, re: academia: "The competition is so high because the stakes are so low." There is something really weird, at least to me, in working so extraordinarily hard to prove yourself worthy of serving someone/some company. But that's just me.

[BigFish12]

Money and prestige my friend.

[aswanson]

Money, I can understand. Under bayesian analysis, your better off going into medical studies, though. Prestige...well... In my dads day, working at IBM would've earned great prestige. On graduation day for me, working at Microsoft would have earned prestige the same year Google incorporated. So...fuck prestige.

[opportune]

The easiest way to get hired at Google is to let them come to you, not to directly apply

[LearnerHerzog]

The Field of Dreams approach. "If you build it, they will come"

[opportune]

Really, that's not far from the truth. If you've worked at other well known "good" companies and worked on hot/important stuff, and that info is on linkedin, you will probably get approached by a google recruiter at some point. And unless you fuck up your call with them to make sure you're interested and a real person, that basically guarantees you a first round technical phone screen, which is the hardest part of getting hired at Google. You can study as much as you want and be the best engineer possible, but that won't matter if you don't get to the first round interview.

You basically "build" a linkedin profile that comes up when recruiters search for technically hot things, and then they will come knocking

[QML]

Does this method still bypass the algorithms interview? It seems like it only gets your foot in the door, which is probably the harder part for most.

[hello_moto]

Unless someone inside Google wants you that _bad_, you can't by-pass the interview session.

[opportune]

yes, bypasssing the int4erview is hard, what I'm saying is that you can go directly to the first round of technicals without hazards if you play it well